Morceaux de Vous
by Final Hikari
Summary: The night in Gralesyde was a restless one, haunted by the knowledge of the bloodshed that was to come. War was on the horizon, but even with an army to blindly follow orders waiting to march, the prince truly only had one ally.


_**Morceaux de Vous**_

_Pieces of You _

When Asbel heard that Gralesyde had the largest standing army in all of Windor, he had not expected the castle to follow the war theme with shining dedication. The faucet handles in the bathrooms were shaped like the hilts of swords and the spout was shaped like the blade of a sort. Even the doorknobs were shaped like maces, although the points were rounded off so that they were not too sharp.

He walked down the hallways, thoroughly lost, while he eyed all of the various weapons mounted and displayed on the walls. Duke Dallen had more than just a large army; every inch of his mansion reflected an active interest in warfare.

The duke had blanched at the idea of Sophie and him sleeping in the same room regardless of what their relationship was, and neither did he care that all three of them had spent nights outside in the past. The decision left him to wander helplessly in search of the right room. Subsequently, he was hopelessly lost.

He paused when he noticed a door that was slightly ajar. He hesitated for a moment as he reached for the helmet shaped doorknob, but decided that it would not have been odd for Sophie to thoughtlessly leave a door open. He smiled slightly as he thought back to their childhood, when she had proven to be impressively proficient at breaking doors down.

"Hello?" he inquired as he gently knocked on the door and peered inside. "Sophie?"

There was no response and the room appeared to be empty. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, guessing that there could not be too much harm in it. He was inside of the bedroom, but it had to be a guest room, for there was no sign of personal possessions. The only unusual thing that caught his attention was a pile of neatly folded blankets placed upon a chair near the bed. Some of the lights and candles were left off; there was enough light to see by, but the room was still dimly illuminated.

"Sophie…?" he questioned again as he took another step inside. "Is anyone here?"

Though no response came, a cold gust of wind blew through the open doors leading out onto the balcony. An odd feeling, something that he could only consider foreboding, settled over him as he approached the glass doors. The feeling pushed him forward, closer to the doors, when he noticed something strange. A heap of fabric rested beneath the fluttering curtains, which were embroidered with little swords.

Despite his initial assumption that there weren't any possessions in the room, a black cape with orange and blue designs lay sprawled on the floor. He blinked when he recognized Windor's royal crest on the back of the garment and quickly stepped out onto the balcony.

Alarm set in almost instantly when he saw Richard standing alone at the far side of the balcony, on the thin area of stone outside of the railing. Only a few inches of the precipice unprotected by the guardrail separated him from the drop below.

"Richard!" he exclaimed as he rushed forward, though the monarch did not seem to hear him. "What are you doing?"

He seemed perfectly calm until Asbel grabbed his arm, which finally pulled the prince from his reverie. Richard turned his head suddenly with an expression of surprise, as though he hadn't heard a word his friend said until then.

"Asbel?" he said as he blinked.

Troubled by the unusual response, Asbel didn't let go of his arm and repeated his question. "Why are you out on the edge? It's dangerous!"

Richard looked away, back to the landscape of Gralesyde. His voice shifted from surprised to a cold, calm tone that was not any more comforting. The unseasonably icy wind blew from behind them, causing the monarch's fluttering hair to hide his expression from view.

"It's more like looking down from the sky on this side of the railing," he said simply, though his voice sounded oddly detached.

"Does it really matter?" Asbel asked, dissatisfied with the answer.

"It's what I was once used to," he replied distantly.

Asbel was silent for a moment before he stopped gripping the monarch's arm and gave his hand a gentle pull instead. "Well, it's not safe. You should come back inside."

The prince nodded and obliged, holding on to his knight as he climbed back over the railing. He had taken his gloves off at some point, which left his hands exposed to the cold wind and chilled from gripping the stone railing. Once they stood side by side on the same side of the barrier and faced the light pouring out of the doors, Richard let go and put his hand over the left side of his face, concealing his eye.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Asbel asked warily as he reached out to put his hand on his friend's shoulder, but the blond was already turning away and did not notice. Asbel's arm fell back to his side as he followed after Richard, who automatically went over to close and lock the door.

"I'm fine," he replied, though he suddenly sounded tired.

The prince fastened the lock on the door and set the key on the dresser beside it, then sat down on the neatly made bed in the center of the room. He hunched forward with his elbow resting on his leg as he kept his left eye covered. Asbel wandered after him with a skeptical frown; he couldn't help but worry. Even though their conversation outside the mansion earlier in the evening had included quite a few serious topics, he couldn't think of anything that would warrant such odd behavior from the prince.

"Does your head hurt?" Asbel asked lamely.

"It's really nothing serious," he dismissed. "Could you lock the balcony doors as well?"

"Sure…"

He closed the glass doors and locked them as requested, though in the back of his mind, he doubted that there was any real reason for doing so. They were several floors up and he was skeptical as to whether anyone would actually try to climb up to a room that seemed as ordinary as any other. Regardless, he didn't voice his doubt. The prince had only gotten more sporadic with his behavior since they got out of Barona; he could only guess that it was because all of the bloodshed was catching up with him.

"We're leaving early tomorrow," Richard said as he finally stopped covering his eye. "You should return to your own room soon."

"I will…I'm sorry for just coming in, the door was ajar," he explained awkwardly. "I thought that this might've been the room Sophie was given and I knew she wasn't going to remember to brush her teeth on her own. I don't think I've even shown her toothbrushes yet."

He was ready to go on, but he realized a bit too late that he was rambling.

"You don't have to apologize," the prince replied simply. "I don't know how I could've left the door open like that, it was terribly careless."

"Well, this is Gralesyde, it's a very well off city," he said with a nod. "It's a lot richer than Lhant."

"Every city has a fair share of dangerous regions as well," the monarch said. "Even Barona has some regions where it isn't wise to traverse at night."

"Are you worried about enemies here?" Asbel asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed beside the prince.

"Enemies are always something to worry about," he replied with thoughtless honesty.

He saw how the knight's expression became worried instantly, but the prince replied with a weary smile, "It's really just routine. I'm sure you've heard plenty of stories at the knight academy."

_That makes it sound even worse._

"They usually didn't put it like that," Asbel replied, though he paused for a moment when he met Richard's gaze. "Hey, is your eye alright?"

The prince responded by looking away quickly. "Of course it i-" he broke off as he grimaced and covered his eye once again.

"What's going on?" Asbel asked instantly.

Asbel reached out and put his hand on the prince's shoulder, frustrated with his evasiveness. Richard grabbed his wrist abruptly, jerking it away and turning to face him. His grip was painfully tight at first, but he loosened his hold when their eyes met. He didn't let go, either, but Asbel's attention was fixed upon the heterochromic eyes that looked back at him.

At first, he thought that it was just his imagination; the blood colored shade of his friend's left eye was too unnatural. Even when the prince leaned closer, he still found himself focused on that unquestionably red iris. It could not have been his mind playing tricks on him – it may have been unexplained, but it was still there and most certainly crimson.

His heart kept up with the situation faster than his head, and began to beat faster when it occurred to him just how close they were. They were near enough for the knight to feel warm breath against his face. He felt almost obligated to pull away, but truthfully had no inclination to do so outside of the sense of obligation of rank.

Despite the distraction of that eye emanating the color of blood, there was still such a strong awareness of being dangerously close. Soft, blond strands of hair brushed against the knight's face as the distance between them was diminished even farther.

However, before he could even properly think about the situation, Richard slumped and rested his head on his knight's shoulder. Stillness lasted for a long moment, bonded with silence. They were just two people – rank did not seem to matter as much for those few isolated seconds. Asbel set his arm around his friend's shoulders, distantly thinking that it seemed like the right thing to do.

It was uncomfortable in a way, for looking down at Windor's royal crest on the back of the prince's jacket was a striking reminder of class. The symbol was partially obscured by the blond hair that his hand rested over.

The silence finally broke when Richard spoke again. "I'm sorry. I'm not myself right now."

The prince fingers' were only starting to warm up again after being outside by the time he let go of Asbel's wrist.

"It's alright," Asbel said automatically, uncertain of what else he could possibly say.

The prince straightened and moved away though he didn't look up again. "You should go get some proper rest. It's late."

"If you're sure," he said, despite being unsettled by the peculiarities of the situation. "You should rest too, I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning. It didn't seem like you got a lot of sleep when we slept outside last night."

_He's acting like nothing even happened._

"Don't worry about it," he dismissed.

Despite how he no longer felt welcomed, Asbel still didn't leave immediately. "Do you want me to request some extra guards to stay outside your room tonight? Duke Dalen has so many soldiers, I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem."

"We need as much manpower as possible tomorrow," Richard said as he shook his head. "They need to keep resting. Retaking Barona will not be an easy task."

"We'll be able to do it," he said with a smile that was admittedly forced.

"All the more reason for you to go. Goodnight, Asbel."

"G'night," he echoed as he walked toward the door.

He felt as though he should have said more, but he truly had no idea what words they should have been. Nevertheless, he grabbed the key off the dresser when he was on his way out. The silence was uncomfortable while he messed with the locks, but he still repeated another goodbye before he slipped out the door.

_Maybe it really was just my imagination with his eye._ It was easier for him to think that it wasn't real when it wasn't right before his eyes. _It's not like all of the lights in the room were on._

He continued down the corridors, preoccupied by his thoughts as he continued with his original goal to find where Sophie was staying. When he finally found her room, there was no mistaking it for another – one of the hinges was broken. The door was propped in a way where it resembled being close as it hung in the frame.

_She never was too keen on letting locked doors stop her._

He peered inside the room, but it was already too late for him to remind her to brush her teeth. She was already asleep on the bed, peaceful albeit upside down with one pillow under her head and another under her feet. One of the sheets was kicked onto the floor, but he walked over to pick it up. The carpet softened his footsteps and he was able to cover her up without waking her. He stepped back and closed the door behind him as quietly as he could, though it was difficult with the broken hinge.

He paused when he was out in the hallway again and started toward his room, but when he stepped inside, he quickly decided to only linger for a few moments. He picked his sword up from the table and attached it to his belt while thinking about what Richard had let slip about the constant worry of enemies. Duke Dallen hadn't bothered to set a guard outside of Richard's room, for if Asbel remembered correctly, he heard Dallen claim that the exterior guards were more than enough protection.

"_Enemies are always something to worry about. It's really just routine."_

The aspect of Richard's words that bothered him the most, even more so than the words themselves repeating in his mind, was the way that he said them. It was with such weary familiarity, twisted in an attempt to make something horrible sound unimportant and underwhelming. Truthfully, it only made it sound worse; he couldn't help but wonder how many times the prince had dealt with assassins in the past.

_I don't know if any enemies would really show up here, but…Cedric really did have a lot of soldiers._

Without losing track of where he was going, he returned to Richard's room. It took him a while to get back to the room; the guest rooms were significantly far apart. When he finally found the correct door, most of the candles in the halls had already been extinguished for the night. There were only a few left burning in each corridor.

When he started to unlock the door, the simple sound of the key scraping inside the lock seemed to make more noise than it ordinary did. The door opened silently and he stepped inside, though he was almost surprised to see that the prince was already asleep. The blankets were twisted around him and even though he was asleep, his hands occasionally moved or clenched in whatever dreams or nightmares he was having.

_At least he's resting…_

Despite the dark calmness that had filled the castle, worries still haunted him as he walked across the room and sat down in one of the chairs. He leaned his sword against the arm of the chair so that his hand would still rest on the hilt, even when he fell asleep.

_The least I can do is stay here tonight, just in case any enemies do show up._

_Even if the royal guard betrayed him and even if I'm not officially a knight, I can still watch over him._

He tilted his head toward the windows as he leaned back in the chair, looking out at the reflection of the mood over Lake Grale. It was barely a sliver of light in the dark sky, with the majority of its surface obscured by darkness. He glanced back to the prince, whose knuckles were white from clutching the sheets. Through nightmares and through the reality of being awake, a sea of distance still separated them.

* * *

He woke up in the middle of the night just like he always did, far more alert and tense than anyone should have been. He glanced around the room, half expecting to see Windorian soldiers of the royal guard closing in. As he started to look up, he noticed a shadow of a person and a sword on the floor and his hand instantly shot under the pillow in search of the dagger he usually kept there. He reached around, expecting to find the cold, metal hilt that he kept in the same place for years on end.

He mentally cursed when he remembered where he was and that he had not gotten the chance to take that precaution, glancing back at the vacant hiding place before looking back at the silhouette. The tension melted away instantly when he looked up to see where the shadow came from. Sleeping awkwardly in a chair with his hand loosely set over the hilt of his sword was Asbel.

_Why did he come back?_

The prince smiled slightly, though it was accompanied with a sense of guilt as well. Had he worried the young knight too much with his careless comments? He must have, though he ordinarily tried harder to hide the dark realities of his situation. There were times when it was difficult with Asbel, since unlike most, it was too easy to be truthful with him. The prince didn't have to be perfectly formal when it came to Asbel; even being on a first name basis felt more than acceptable, but completely right.

Richard winced as a mocking voice from deep within his mind commented on his "foolish attachments" while he put his hand over his throbbing forehead. He stood up and walked over to the curtain where an undisturbed pile of blankets was left. He pulled one of the softer ones and walked over to where Asbel awkwardly rested.

He wrapped the blanket around the young knight, who didn't stir at all. Richard smiled at how peacefully and obliviously he slept, despite the disturbance. Though the prince's situation was a whirlwind of change, it was amusing comforting to see that some things never changed.

_At least you've been able to stay the same through all of this._

He whispered softly enough to ensure that the knight would not wake up. "You're the only one who has, Asbel."

* * *

Author's Tales of Fail: This is what happens when I try to write fluff. :'D This idea came when I was half asleep one morning. It ended kinda brusquely because I was woken up. XD

Nevertheless, I ended up putting a lot more time into this than a normal person would probably put into a 3,000 word fic. :B I really wanted to salvage the idea and try to make it from a half-dream into a proper oneshot.

Thanks go to my sister Dr. Meh for the coaching in writing fluff! XD

And thank you all for reading! Reviews are always greatly appreciated. :D


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